Drydocks World wins award for innovative solutions

Drydocks World and Maritime World have received the Innovative solution Award at the International Business Excellence Awards ceremony, for constructing the subsea oil storage tank, "Solan".

Drydocks World began working on the project in 2013 and delivered on target in 2014. Solan accommodates more than 400,000 barrels of oil under the sea. The idea behind the construction of the huge tank was to reduce the extended pipelines under the sea to transfer oil, and therefore reduce the negative impact on the environment to a large extent, with the oil transferred directly from the tank to the oil tanker.

In cooperation with the client, Premier Oil, Drydocks World constructed the subsea oil storage tank which is comprised of a 45m. x 45m. x 25m. structural tank weighing approximately 10,150 tonnes, in eight mega blocks, connected with pile sleeves and mud mats. The tank was floated onto a heavy lift transportation vessel and was successfully installed in a water depth of 130m. where it now resides under the sea in the Scottish Shetland Islands.

The company's achievements on this project included lifting a 7,170 tonne structure, skidding the facility from the general assembly area to the dry docking area for load out, and installing an 895 tonne block on the tank using the shipyard's floating crane.

The subsea oil storage facility was built to extremely exacting standards. Each and every weld joint was recorded and documented with details of the welder, weld method and date. Complete welding totalling 120,000 meters, NDT tested and recorded. Of this, over 60,000 metres of joints were ultrasonically scanned, ensuring the highest possible quality standards in welding.